Thousands fleeing Sudan are stuck in Red Sea city
STORY: Under makeshift tents in sweltering heat… many of these people in Port Sudan remain in limbo.
They escaped fighting between Sudan’s army and paramilitary forces.
But with refugees arriving every day from Khartoum - as well as Syria and Yemen…
people are finding it hard to get a ticket out of the Red Sea city.
Port Sudan is a shipping hub - and in happier times - a tourist destination.
It hasn't seen much fighting, but is bracing for the effects of a wider economic crisis.
UN and foreign missions are setting up bases and Red Sea neighbor Saudi Arabia has evacuated almost 8,000 people.
But demand to get out is outpacing supply, refugees say... and the price for a room is skyrocketing.
“Because of politics, all of the Sudanese people have been displaced," this man says. "We’re here but we’d be better dead in Khartoum.”
In the capital city, smoke billowed over its skyline on Friday with reports of heavy gunfire.
About 100,000 refugees have fled abroad since mid-April.
An urgent UN Human Rights Council meeting on the crisis could be called next week by a group of countries led by Britain, the U.S., Norway and Germany.
Meanwhile, medical supplies are touching down.
This UAE plane landed on Friday in coordination with the World Health Organization.
The WHO's Sudan representative says distributing the supplies is another matter.
“The challenge is how to get these supplies to where they are needed…”
The group says data from Sudan shows more than 550 people have died so far with nearly 5,000 wounded... although the true tolls are likely much higher.
